1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a sunvisor for a vehicle. The sunvisor support rod can be slid on a track from a position parallel the front windshield of a car to a position substantially parallel the side window of a car. In particular, the present invention pertains to a sunvisor which is attached to a bracket by the support rod. The slideable bracket, which has electrical contacts mounted to it, slides in a track which also has electrical contacts near at least one end. The track is molded, or attached to a headliner or front interior sheet-metal roof of a vehicle. A control turn arm is attached to the sunvisors support rod above the headliner and slides and rotates about a channel guide attached to the top side of the headliner. The control turn arm will automatically turn the visor support rod and the visor shell as the sunvisor shell is slid below the track to a side window position. A lighted vanity mirror can be placed on the sunvisor shell with electricity being supplied by the electrical contacts attached to the bracket and to the track. A lever can be attached to the bracket so the user can slide the sunvisor assembly with the lever.
2. Prior Art
Sunvisors for automobiles and the like are well known. In most sunvisors an attachment point is created at the corner of a car. The sunvisor has a support rod that is attached to an end edge of the visor and is then attached to a mounting bracket which is secured to the corner of a vehicles interior roof. The sunvisor blade or housing can be rotated down to block the sun from the windshield position. The sunvisor housing can also be turned to the side window by grabbing the housings free end and turning the free end toward the side window. The free end is near the center of the vehicle and is pulled back toward the user and then rotated to the side window.
Suggestion have been put forth for improving the movement of the visor, including U.S. Pat. No. 2,978,274 by Quaine which shows a sunvisor that moves along a track and has two attachment points to the track and the track having a first portion along the windshield and a second portion along the side window. U.S. Pat. No. 3,403,937 by Ordman suggests a method for moving a sunvisor along a rail with the sunvisor having two attachment points to the rail and the rail having a first portion along the windshield and a second portion along the side window. Each of these suggested methods for operating a sunvisor fall short in that each suggests track or rail along the windshield and also along the side windows and also require two attachment points for the visors. Neither is commercially feasible because of the design and the cost. More recent suggestions such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,952 by Miyamoto et al. suggest a method of deploying a sunvisor within a track concealed in the headliner. This method doesn't provide for side window protection and also has the sunvisor attached at two different places. It also uses up additional space between the headliner and the roof for the frame and mechanism which deploys the visor.
Several methods have been suggested for providing an easier method to move a sunvisor to the side window. Prior art has nevertheless failed to address an efficient method of making and of operating a tracking sunvisor. None of the suggested methods have been commercialized because of their failure to address these problems. The present invention addresses these problems by providing a sunvisor that slides upon a track, attached or molded to the headliner. This creates a modular headliner that distributes the weight of a visor assembly and the force of use of the visor over the entire track area and therefor over a larger area of the headliner. It also allows for much easier assembly and less components to install on the assembly line. The track and bracket assembly proposed provides an extremely low profile assembly with a structure that allows a sunvisor shell to be operated with one attachment point to the track. The track is easily attached and placed on the headliner with a minimal amount of headroom used. The structure of the track, bracket and bearing assembly, also allow the sunvisor which is attached to the bracket by a support rod to move easily from a rested position parallel the front windshield to an in-use position at one of the front side windows. The sunvisor support rod which is rotate-able within a collar hole in the bracket; can be slid to the side window upon the track. Electrical contacts are provided upon the bracket and also upon one end of the track.
It is a further object and purpose of the present invention to provide a sunvisor assembly that slides in a track. The sunvisor has a support rod attached to a bracket and rotate-able within a bracket collar hole in the bracket. The support rod has a control turn arm fixedly attached near the upper end of the support rod. The control turn arm has an elongated slot which slides and rotates around a channel guide. The channel guide is mounted above the headliner and adjacent and behind the track. The control turn arm will automatically turn the support rod and the visor shell toward the side window or back to a rested state parallel the windshield; as the visor bracket is slid along the longitudinal length of the track parallel the windshield. A lever is attached to the bracket assembly. The lever extends into the interior of the vehicle and is just below the headliner and the track. The levers surface is below and parallel the bottom of the track and adjacent and above the sunvisor shell. The lever can be pushed or pulled by the user to slide the visor shell to the in-use position or to the rested position.
It is a further object and purpose of the present invention to provide a sunvisor that slides below a track on a bracket. The slideable bracket has electrical contacts attached to it which move with the bracket and provide electric to the lighted vanity mirror assembly on the sunvisor shell when the bracket and attached visor are in the rested position parallel the front windshield. The track has electrical contacts near at least one end and when the bracket is slid to the rested position the brackets contacts and the tracks contacts are in contact and complete the electrical circuit. This provides electric to the vanity mirror assembly.
Accordingly it is a principal object and purpose of the present invention to provide a sunvisor that has a bracket which slides in a track. The track is parallel the windshield or front window of a vehicle and attached or molded to the headliner. In this version, the track is parallel the front windshield. The bracket slides within the track and has a support rod attached and rotatable within the bracket collar hole in the bracket. The sunvisors shell has a slot that allows the sunvisor shell to move radially about the rod passing therethrough and an oblong clamp surrounding the rod to allow the sunvisor shell to move linearly upon the oblong clamp.